


The Forest Where People Choose To Stay

by mywasteddream



Series: Turning Point Series [1]
Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 21:54:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2789075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mywasteddream/pseuds/mywasteddream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The forest was lush green. One of the paths that guided people into its blanket lay just next to the small coffee shop. It was small, just about two meters wide with tiny pebbles which creaked slowly whenever people walked there. When Jun first came there, the pebbles were not there. He was the one who put pebbles there after he bought the building and opened his coffee shop. He just wanted to hear if somebody went into the path, in case they decided to never go out anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Forest Where People Choose To Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed.

The forest was lush green. One of the paths that guided people into its blanket lay just next to the small coffee shop. It was small, just about two meters wide with tiny pebbles which creaked slowly whenever people walked there. When Jun first came there, the pebbles were not there. He was the one who put pebbles after he bought the building and opened his coffee shop. He just wanted to hear if somebody went into the path, in case they decided to never go out anymore.

Jun came to the village three years ago. He was called by the local police who asked him if he could come over to recognize a corpse they found during a scan in the forest. The man did not have anything for identification other than a phone in which Jun’s e-mail was the only one in the mailbox. It was not even a private e-mail. Jun just happened to be the one responsible for e-mailing everyone for the next reunion. But he was the only one to connect the dead body to a certain name.

Three years ago Jun took a paid leave and rode a train to nowhere in Yamanashi Perfecture and took an hour bus ride into a small town where he met Detective Sakurai who shook his hand firmly and took him to the morgue.

Jun did really not know him personally, but he knew him by name. Takazaki Ryuta, same age as Jun, being 28 at that time. Takazaki-san and him was in the same lab, they shared work together; buying drinks for lab parties, work on presentations, and even have seen each other naked during one of their lab trips to hotsprings. The last thing Jun remembered about Takazaki was when they both graduated, then Takazaki went for his job in Sapporo, Jun found a job in Tokyo.

Detective Sakurai - whom now Jun called as simply “Sho” when he visited the coffee shop - told him that Takazaki was found hanging on a tree somewhere in the forest. He used his own necktie to end his life. Sakurai pointed a specific spot on a map, which at that time Jun did not recognize at all.

“No suicide letter found,” the detective said, “the only thing we found in his pocket was his phone, and everything was left clean, except for your e-mail.” The police’s diverted his eyes, and Jun felt like he was accused to take part in killing of the man. Jun read somewhere that reunion invitation could become a mental burden for someone who felt as a failure.

“I did not imply…,” Sakurai said again, but Jun raised his hand to stop him and shook his head.

He then told the police about how they could contact university and whom to ask in the administration office. Being the one responsible for reunion invitation, Jun knew everyone from the alumni office. He then excused himself from the morgue, and declined Sakurai’s kind offer to get a cup of coffee as his form of gratitude for Jun’s help. Apparently, a lot of people who chose to die in the forest often ended unrecognized and the police would perform a burial without being able to tell their families or friends.

Jun came back to that small town on the mountain a few months later. He quit his work and withdrew all his savings, bought himself an abandoned building by one of the forest paths, just a little away from the town and opened his coffee shop. Before Takazaki’s death, he used to imagine his future coffee shop to be somewhere in Azabu Juban or at least Shimokitazawa, somewhere stylish and full of life. He often wondered how the death of someone he barely knew could change his whole life drastically. Every time he looked out from the window and looking at the sea of trees just behind his place, he wondered if Takazaki’s death was partly his fault.

He named the coffee shop Turning Point, in hope that people would decide to come back again instead of entering the forest and never come back. He spread the pebbles on the path, in hope he could hear anyone sneaking into the forest at night.

And then the year after, Sakurai and several locals started a volunteer group for sweeping that side of forest, and Jun offered his shop as a meeting point.

 

“Jun,” a voice called him from behind. Masaki nudged him, “Four black coffee. The search party is here.”

Jun woke up from his thought. “Sorry,” he muttered, “Four coffee.” He nodded towards the search party where he could see Sho unfolding the forest map.

“That’s why I thought I should follow you and come here,” Masaki gave him a soft smile, “You tend to think too much.”

And Jun felt Masaki’s long fingers lingered on his hand for a second before going to greet more volunteers who just entered the coffee shop.

**Author's Note:**

> The story is inspired by Amazarashi's 穴を掘っている PV and articles about Aokigahara. The setting of the story is, however, not Aokigahara.
> 
> Just a note, it is perfectly normal for same-sex labmates in a university to have seen one another naked. It's not even weird to see your professor (if he/she is the same sex with you) naked.


End file.
